Liquid feeding system for internalcombustion engines



W. C. PIERCE June 30, 1953 Filed June 2, 1950 INVETOR ATTORNEY PatentedJune 30, 1953 LIQUI'D' FEEDI 'G SYSTEM FOR an R N A ii COMBUSTIONE1\TGIl\TE'S" William 0. Pierce, New can tcbnmassigm to EmerolManufacturing Co.', Inc.',' New York,- N. Y., acorporation of IllinoisApplication-June 2; 1950, warm-resists This invention relates to liquidfeeding or metering devices for internal combustion engines and moreparticularly to such a device which feeds liquid material such as alubricating oil'to the engine in accordance with it's operatingrequirements.

The invention is an improvementin" lubricat in'gsystems-of the typeshown and described in U. S. Patent No. 1,883,110, althoughtheinstai'it' valve and to control accordingly the' quantityofliqu'ids'uch' as lubricant; delivered to the com bustion' chambersofthe engine through the valve opening. The device isarrang'edto-therebyincrease the'efiective size of the valve opening when" theengine is'runningat a highspeed so as' to correspondingly increase thepassage of liquid to theen'ginef Conversely, the effectivevalve; openingis decreased when the engine is idling; and-the passageofliquidbeingdelivered is limited-accordingly. Thus, the device serves to sup ply an'amount of liquid governed by'th'e' operating conditions of the engine.

In prior mechanisms of this type, the diaphragm was integral with thevalve seat, and a spring was employed for urging. the diaphragmdown'wardly o'r away from theneedle valve; The vacuum or suctionproduced by the engine would then operate to draw the diaphragm upwardlyagainst the action of the spring so as to close the valve accordingly.It will be understood therefore that the action of the spring was toflex the diaphragm convexly in respect to its norm-ally planar statewhereas the vacuum operated to restore the diaphragm to its normal,planar shape and then flex it concavely as the vacuum increased. It willbe understood of course that the terms convexly and concavely are usedrelatively since the diaphragm comprises a thin annular sheet of metal.I

I have determined that this action which required the diaphragm to passfrom a convex to a concave state produced an erratic feeding action inthat the diaphragms movement did not depend entirely upon the vacuum butwas influrealms. (o1. mama enced by a jerking or snapping action as the2 the engines operating requirements but its flow might bes'uddenlydecreased-at certain operating conditions. I

In order to remedy the above defect, I have determined that the: actionis far more precise and is rendered completely satisfactory byeliminating the spring-which initially forces the diaphragmintoconven'form and; onthe contrary, providinga' spring which flexes-thediaphragm 'co'ncavely'l Inasmuch as the" vacuum further operates torender the diaphragm concave, the actions-of both the spring 'and the"vacuum are in the same'direction; a'ndthe diaphragm always operates onone side-*o'fits normally planar state. The'refore,'-- it is notcompelled to pass through such planar state under varying conditions'ofoperation; As a result; it has beech found that liquid feeding isuniform and various economies have been noted in the'consumption of"such liquid; This improvement further resulted in additionalo'pe'ifatingadvantages in that the spring" was found to" absorbshocks ofbackfire which .were' refiected in thejvacuum produced and wereexerted-upon the diaphragm. This is of importance in prolonging the'lifeof the appara tus a-n'd';maintaining-it 'in proper operating condition:Theinstant'appl'ication further includes means for adjusting the springtension so that thefsame=dev-ices mayserve various types of en gmesi-'Ihie invehtion -will'he further understood fromthe-followingdescription and drawings-in which:

Fig; 1 is a-fragmenta ry; cross' se'ctional view of a liquid feedingdevice' -constructed according to-the insta ntinvention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary, enlarged view illustrating a modificationthereof.

The device comprises a casing or housing It] having a substantiallytubular wall I I defining a chamber l2. Essentially, the internal partsduplicate and function as the illustrated and described mechanism inapplication Serial No. 721,929 of Clayton B. Pierce, filed January 14,1947, now U. S. Patent No. 2,539,924. Briefly, a circular diaphragm I3of thin resilient metal is secured between base member I l and flange I5 of the housing. Diaphragm I3 is connected as by nut I6 to post I!which supports the valve seat I8. A needle valve l9 pivotally mounted toscrew 20 determines the size of the opening in valve seat I8. Apredetermined relationship between the valve 19 and the valve seat I 8may be effected by means of nuts 2| and 22. A coil spring 23 disposedwithin the hollow of nut 22 serves to maintain the parts in correct andfirm relationship.

The feed spoon 24 is adapted to receive the liquid from container 25 asthe liquid travels up the tube 26 in response to vacuum actuation andthereafter through stem I1 and through the valve opening. The fluiddrips from spoon 24 onto pan 2'! from whence it is drawn through theorifice 28 into the conduit 29 .which is maintained within theinternally threaded nipple 30 by the coupling 3 l. A ring screw 32provided with a window provides visual communication with the chamber 12so that the amount of liquid dripping from spoon 24 onto pan 2! maybeobserved. Nuts 2| and 22 serve as adjusting means and are generallyactuated pursuant to the observed flow of lubricant during the operationof the-engine. The other end of conduit 29 extends through a suitableopening formed in the intake manifold of the engine between the intakevalves and the throttle valve of the charge forming device in theengine. The action therefore is that which was hereinabove described.

The mechanism described is more or less conventional save for the factthat a spring is omitted between the spoon 24 and ceiling of the chamberI2. I have determined that this spring should be replaced by one whichis so disposed as to eliminate the erratic feed abovementioned.Accordingly, base member-l4 is formed with a central depression 35 inwhich is disposed a coil spring 36. The upper end of such coil springembraces the head of nut 18 which is connected to the diaphragm and topost or stem 11. The effect of spring 35 is to maintain the diaphragm ina slightly elevated or concave position relative to its normal planarstate. It will be recognized that the action of spring 36 is in a largemeasure opposed by the inherent resiliency of diaphragm l3 so that thespring does not effect a complete closure of the valve. The diaphragmand the valve opening are, however, elevated toward closing position andthe vacuum produced elevates these parts still further. Accordingly, thediaphram never is flexed to opposite positions of its normal planarstate and the liquid flow is uniform and better controllable. V

The depression or chamber 35 of base member 14 further provides meansfor adjusting the tension of spring 36 as by the modified embodimentillustrated in Fig. 2. As shown therein, a plurality of washers 31 maybe placed on the floor of depression 35 so as to produce an initiallygreater tension of spring 36. This expedient may be used to adapt theapparatus to the specific requirements of an engine.

The illustrated and described disposition of spring 36 is of particularbenefit in that it absorbs shocks of back-fire which might otherwisedamage or distort the diaphragm. Thus, the useful life of the apparatusis prolonged relative to prior devices which did not so dispose thespring.

What is claimed is:

l. A device for feeding liquid from a source of supply thereof to thecylinders of an internal combustion engine or the like, said devicecomprising a casing, valve means for regulating the flow of said liquidto said cylinders, a diaphragm of thin resilient metal transverselydisposed in said casing and retained therein around its marginal edges,said diaphragm being connected to said valve means and moved by thesuction created by the displacement of the pistons of said engine forautomatically adjusting the opening of said valve means so as to drawsaid liquid through said opening into said cylinders in an amountdepending upon said suction, said casing being formed with an outlet foradmitting said suction into said casing and on one side of saiddiaphragm so as to urge it in one direction and a spring disposed on theother side of and acting against said diaphragm so as to maintain itnormally flexed in the same direction as urged by said suction, saiddiaphragm being free of any external opposing spring force urging it inthe opposite direction.

2. A device according to claim 1 and including a base member for saidcasing, said base member being formed with a central depression thereinadapted to communicate with the source of liquid supply, said springbeing disposed within said central depression.

3. A device according to claim 2 and including a nut connecting saiddiaphragm to said valve means and having a head disposed on theunderside of said diaphragm, said spring being helical and embracingsaid headat the top end thereof.

4. A device according to claim 3 and including at least one washerhaving a central opening disposed in said depression below said helicalspring and serving as a rest for the lower end of the spring.

WILLIAM C. PIERCE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,264,764 Block Apr. 30, 1918 2,112,538 Loughlin Mar. 29, 19382,539,924 Pierce Jan. 30, 1951

